Tom King Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 ......................................................... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 This should be a very useful thread. Using a jointer is a bit of an art that a lot of people don't seem to understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 Here is my thing.. I don't terribly understand jointers. My knowledge is based on Marc's video where he said to draw lines on a face and when all your lines are gone, it's flat. I know that if it's severely off that I'm going to need to make sure it's taking material off of the high spots, and that I may need to hand plane it to get it a bit more even. I don't have a ton of experience jointing as my jointer hasn't been terribly operational but so far it's kinda worked. That's a long way of saying, what I've done so far has been ok, but I could use more knowledge so I hope someone speaks up. I got 12 foot long walnut boards out in the shop that I bet won't be the easiest to get squared up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estesbubba Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 4 minutes ago, Cliff said: That's a long way of saying, what I've done so far has been ok, but I could use more knowledge so I hope someone speaks up. I got 12 foot long walnut boards out in the shop that I bet won't be the easiest to get squared up. Do you need 12' in finished length? Generally it's a good idea to break down your rough boards into smaller pieces before jointing. The longer the board the more passes it usually needs on the jointer which can be a problem if you're shooting for a certain thickness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 Ya, it doesn't take much cup, twist or warp in a 12" piece to have it end up as nothing but a short board & a pile of shavings to get it all flat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strasberry Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 Not trying to Hi Jack this thread and I'm sure it's been discussed before, but isn't it much easier to use a planer for flattening a panel and just using the jointer for edges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 I flatten panels on the drum sander. I believe what were talking about Is a board. Eliminating bow and twist is not the planers forte without a shimmed sled. The reference face of the board will become the other side. A twisted board through a planer will become a thinner twisted board. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 1 hour ago, Strasberry said: Not trying to Hi Jack this thread and I'm sure it's been discussed before, but isn't it much easier to use a planer for flattening a panel and just using the jointer for edges? You can flatten with a planer if you use a sled, but that's a much less efficient & complicated way to do it, time wise. You can joint edges pretty easily with a table saw & jig. A jointer's most important function, in my opinion is to flatten one face. Of course if you have a jointer, you'd use it to joint the edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strasberry Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 Not trying to Hi Jack this thread and I'm sure it's been discussed before, but isn't it much easier to use a planer for flattening a panel and just using the jointer for edges? You can flatten with a planer if you use a sled, but that's a much less efficient & complicated way to do it, time wise. You can joint edges pretty easily with a table saw & jig. A jointer's most important function, in my opinion is to flatten one face. Of course if you have a jointer, you'd use it to joint the edge. With my little 12" planer I've never had a problem with getting my rough stock flat and true. I have put at least a 1,000 lineal feet of stock through it and have never had an issue. My whole kitchen came to me random width and length. If there was a 12' board warped or twisted I'd cut it into shorter usable pieces and then plane it. Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 2 hours ago, Strasberry said: But isn't it much easier to use a planer for flattening a panel and just using the jointer for edges? I read it add a question instead of a statement. With the statement, I'd have to disagree but to each their own. If it's worked for you for thousands of feet, why change now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotscott Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 8 hours ago, Strasberry said: Not trying to Hi Jack this thread and I'm sure it's been discussed before, but isn't it much easier to use a planer for flattening a panel and just using the jointer for edges? A planer doesn't truly flatten...it duplicates the opposite face of the board. If that opposite face happens to be flat, you'll get a flat board out, but if that opposite face isn't flat (most aren't), the planer will transfer whatever irregularities that board has, minus some of the high spots....actual flatness will be much more random than with a jointer. Some sort of a planer sled can provide that flat face to reference to, but my experience has been that it's a lot more work than flattening with the jointer, except for on boards that are wider than the jointer. A jointer provides a true flat reference face for the edge jointing process to reference to, meaning you end up with a flat face throughout the entire length of the board, and a uniform 90° edge all along it. It really boils down to what's acceptable deviation to you. You obviously have gotten results you're satisfied with, but I don't think it's the most predictable or consistent method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 6 hours ago, Strasberry said: With my little 12" planer I've never had a problem with getting my rough stock flat and true. I have put at least a 1,000 lineal feet of stock through it and have never had an issue. My whole kitchen came to me random width and length. If there was a 12' board warped or twisted I'd cut it into shorter usable pieces and then plane it. Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk Wow - your stock must be very flat to begin with. A planer is designed for thicknessing a board. The planer will simply copy the other side. If a panel is cupped, it will push it flat, and then it will spring back to its cupped position when I'm comes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheperd80 Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 Flat and flat are not always the same thing :-). Carpentry flat = looks good when i sight down it with one eye. Furniture flat = no light shows through under my expensive straightedge as i pass it along the entire surface. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 11 hours ago, estesbubba said: Do you need 12' in finished length? Generally it's a good idea to break down your rough boards into smaller pieces before jointing. The longer the board the more passes it usually needs on the jointer which can be a problem if you're shooting for a certain thickness. Originally I was looking at an 8 foot desk build, but recently I've decided that I may chop it up into sections and figure out how to connect the sections in my office, since I am not sure I can fit an 8 foot desk with multiple levels through my house to get to my office anyway. Though the very top I'll probably still try to retain 8 foot, so the answer is maybe? Last week my wife decided she wants a wood counter top, and that is going to be 10-12 feet (haven't measured yet.) so I have that to be concerned about. I don't necessarily have to use the wood I got currently, so I can try to cherry pick some flatter stock maybe to improve my situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 I built an 8' sled with hardwood edges and a 1" thick MDF center. I use playing cards to shim up the warps and twists & tape them in place. I screw corner blocks that are much thinner than the pieces being flattened to hold the board still , sometimes double faced tape comes into play as well. I rig up support sections for infeed, outfeed and beside the planer to slide the sled back for a second pass. Yes it is a lot of work but flattening a 90" X 9" X 1 13/16 piece of mahogany on a 6" jointer is impossible. I got it flat and sanded on both sides with 1 7/16 final thickness. I straightened one edge with the tracksaw then took it to the table saw. So if you are determined and meticulous it can be done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 29 minutes ago, wdwerker said: I built an 8' sled with hardwood edges and a 1" thick MDF center. I use playing cards to shim up the warps and twists & tape them in place. I screw corner blocks that are much thinner than the pieces being flattened to hold the board still , sometimes double faced tape comes into play as well. I rig up support sections for infeed, outfeed and beside the planer to slide the sled back for a second pass. Yes it is a lot of work but flattening a 90" X 9" X 1 13/16 piece of mahogany on a 6" jointer is impossible. I got it flat and sanded on both sides with 1 7/16 final thickness. I straightened one edge with the tracksaw then took it to the table saw. So if you are determined and meticulous it can be done. I think I'll have to do this. Honestly I didn't know until these jointer threads that you shouldn't try to get a real long board flat on a 8" jointer (or six in your case.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted February 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 There is no problem at all with jointing a long board on any length jointer. You just have to be able to sight the board, and take off the part/parts that might make the board ride up on the outfeed table off first, before trying to run the whole length of board. The trick is being able to sight the board, and decide how you go about it. I see so many people think that you start by running the whole board across. If a board has twist or bow, I may only run the last few inches across on the first pass, starting with the rest of the board on the outfeed table. It goes really quickly once you can get to this point. A jointer makes perfectly flat what you get reasonably flat so it can do it. The whole process can be done with the jointer. I'm not talking about boards that are wider than the jointer. That requires something different. I'm not interested in continuing in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strasberry Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 7 hours ago, sheperd80 said: Flat and flat are not always the same thing :-). Carpentry flat = looks good when i sight down it with one eye. Furniture flat = no light shows through under my expensive straightedge as i pass it along the entire surface. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk I guess I can never come to the level of the experts in this field and as I seem to have nothing to offer .....Bye! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immortan D Posted February 7, 2016 Report Share Posted February 7, 2016 3 minutes ago, Strasberry said: I guess I can never come to the level of the experts in this field and as I seem to have nothing to offer .....Bye! Not true. You have a lot to offer. Just different ways of doing things, don't take it personal! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted February 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2016 On 2/7/2016 at 10:28 AM, sheperd80 said: Flat and flat are not always the same thing :-). Carpentry flat = looks good when i sight down it with one eye. Furniture flat = no light shows through under my expensive straightedge as i pass it along the entire surface. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk That was seriously funny! The longer the jointer, the easier it is to flatten/straighten a board, but it makes absolutely no difference in being able to do it as long as the board is not too heavy to handle. Anyone who says otherwise simply does not know what they are talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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